


Can you hear me?

by Want_to_read234



Series: My First Whumptober (2020) [21]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Implied/Referenced Torture, Kidnapping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:15:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27175768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Want_to_read234/pseuds/Want_to_read234
Summary: Peter and Mr Stark had been kidnapped. The men had taken Mr Stark away a while ago, but he should be returning soon. At least when he comes back he and Peter should be able to discuss an escape plan. Right?Day 24: Forced Mutism / Blindfolded
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: My First Whumptober (2020) [21]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948717
Comments: 6
Kudos: 57
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Can you hear me?

**Author's Note:**

> Hi,
> 
> I realised this morning that a week today I'll be publishing the final Whumptober fic! (If I manage to get it written before then....) I can't believe its been going so quickly!
> 
> Anyway, Enjoy!

Peter had been sitting staring at the same brick wall for hours now.

They had taken Mr Stark away not long after they had awoken, chained to opposite walls in this place. He hadn’t seen him since, and the guards outside the cell hadn’t come back in either. Peter hadn’t been left with much to do other than stare at the wall.

He tried to keep his mind busy, but his thoughts continuously wandered back to what those men were doing to Mr Stark. The men hadn’t said anything earlier, just grabbed the older man by the arms and dragged him out at gun point. His mentor had made him promise to cooperate as he had left, the fear in his eyes solely for Peter himself. Because of that promise, Peter had remained sitting there in silence. Once they had locked the doors and left him alone, he tested the strength of the chains and found them to be stronger than he had hoped for, but with enough pull they would break. But breaking them would mean revealing his identity. As it stood, they believed they captured Mr Stark and his intern. They didn’t know anything about Peters alter ego, so they should probably keep it that way. Besides it’s not like he could leave without Mr Stark anyway.

The sound of approaching voices, caused Peters gaze to shift from the wall to the door. The clicking of the lock had him tensing. Where he had hoped to see Mr Stark being returned to their cell, he was instead met with the sight of 4 large men, 3 of them with guns aimed directly at him.

Swallowing down his fear, Peter refused to look away when the man without a gun approached him, holding something behind his back.

“You know, we don’t want to hurt you, so if you just cooperate with us, we can be out of your hair in no time,” the man spoke calmly.

“Or you could just let us go. Where is Mr Stark? What have you done with him?”

The man sent him a sickening smile, “Oh don’t you worry. You will be able to see your _Mr Stark_ again soon. You just need to put this on first then we will leave to go grab him.”

Peters breath caught in his throat when he saw what the man was holding. Pressing himself back against the wall, shifting as far from the man as he could manage while chained, he shook his head.

“N-no, please don’t,” he whimpered.

“We do it the easy way or the hard way,” the man stepped closer. Close enough for Peter to smell the stale coffee on his breath, holding out the object in his hand he smirked, “Open wide.”

Clamping his mouth shut, he shook his head. The safety clicked off the guns, as the other 3 guards all walked closer. One of the men came closer pressing the end of the gun against his temple.

“Open wide boy, or your poor mentor out there is going to be hurting a hell of a lot more,” the man ground out.

Peters eyes watched the man warily, before he released a shaky breath. If these men had Mr Stark, he didn’t want to do anything to risk them hurting his mentor any more than they already had. Closing his eyes, he slowly opened his mouth.

The minute his lips parted, the man pressed forward shoving the bar of the mask between his teeth. Peter had to flatten his tongue beneath the bar to prevent himself from choking on it. The mask was pushed forward until the heavy leather was wrapped tightly under his chin and the man fastened the straps behind his head. The leather at the top of the mask was digging into the sensitive skin of his cheeks. The man pulled the mask, well he supposed a more accurate description would be muzzle, to check the tightness of it, pulling Peters neck at an uncomfortable angle, before nodding and stepping back. Seemingly happy with their work, the men all shared a look before turning and walking out, locking the door behind him.

Peter tried to call out after them, but with the muzzle stopping him from even moving his tongue, no sound would come out. He could rattle the chains attached to his arms slightly, but other than that he could do nothing more than huff out breaths through his nose. The chains didn’t provide him with enough leeway to remove the muzzle himself.

The muzzle was causing him to panic, but he tried to slow his breathing, aware that he couldn’t afford to hyperventilate if his only source of oxygen was through his nose. Counting his breaths, Peter had taken 10 deep breaths before he heard the sounds of footsteps approaching the cell door again. There was a pair of stumbling footsteps this time, which Peter assumed belonged to Mr Stark. At least if his mentor was stumbling that meant that he wasn’t out cold. Stumbling was better than being dragged along unconscious.

As the cell door swung open, a group of guards swarmed into the room leading a blindfolded Mr Stark to the wall opposite Peter and cuffed the mans wrists to the wall before shoving him to the ground. The positioning of the cuffs meant that Mr Starks wrists were held at shoulder height when he was sitting, but not with enough give for him to be able to reach his face. The mirror of Peters own predicament.

There was blood and bruising covering Mr Starks face, and there were suspicious red stains covering his worn t-shirt. Peter could see small tremors shaking the mans frame. Whether from cold, fear, or pain he didn’t know.

The guards all stepped back from his mentor, giving him a once over before turning to leave the cell once more. The chains shook as the man reached to try and undo his blindfold, having heard the heavy footsteps backing away.

“Hey, c’mon. At least take the blindfold off!” he shouted after them.

One of the guards stopped in the doorway just before they left the cell, “But it suits you Stark. Besides this way, you don’t need to see the state of the boy and get yourself all worked up.”

“WHAT?! What have you done? Peter? Peter are you in here?” his mentor pulled at his chains trying to find him. “C’mon kid, I need you to answer me.”

The guard shot one last smirk at Peter, before shutting the door.

Peter was breathing deeply, trying to keep his emotions at bay watching his mentor freak out. Since he couldn’t make any sound himself, he tried to shake his chains to get his attention. Mr Stark froze turning to look in Peters direction.

“Pete, you there?”

Rattling his chains again, Peter tried to reassure his mentor.

“I’m going to need you to reply kid. Not sure if you noticed but I can’t see you at the moment and I need you to let me know if you have been hurt,” the man asked in a trembling voice.

Peter felt tears forming in his eyes, as he realised he wouldn’t be able to help calm his mentors fears. All he could do was rattle his chains, hoping his mentor would realise that he couldn’t talk. At the sound of the chains, Peter watched Mr Starks face screw up in pain before taking a deep, shuddering breath.

“Okay, I’m going to hope that you have just decided you don’t want to talk right now, so how about we go with one shake for yes and two shakes for no. Does that sound ok with you?”

Peter shook his chains once, resting his head back against the wall. Letting out a large breath of his own at the development of a method of communication, even if it did rely on questions.

“OK, that’s good Pete. Are you hurt?”, Two shakes of the chains, “Are we in the same cell as earlier?”, one shake, “Are you ok?”

Peter froze, how did he answer that one? He wasn’t physically hurt, but he was wearing a muzzle. They were being held who-knows-where and his mentor was sitting across from him clearly hurt from being beaten, and they had no way of getting out.

“Pete?” the worry in his mentors voice, brought Peter to his decision. He rattled his chains once, to let his mentor know he was ok.

He had to at least try to stay strong for his mentor.

His mentor sent him a nod in return, letting out a sigh. “Wait, can you see me?” a quick rattle of his chains, had his mentor nodding again, letting out a shaky smile. “Ok, that’s good kid. Promise that its not as bad as it looks. We’ll get out of here.”

Huffing a breath through his nose, Peter closed his eyes. He wanted to believe Mr Stark but it was hard to see a positive at the moment.

“I’m struggling with this silence, kid. It’s unsettling,” Peter agreed with him. He was used to filling in the silence, shaking his chains once, he hoped his mentor picked up on his agreement. “You mind if I just ramble for a bit?” Shaking to announce his agreement, Mr Stark started rambling about everything and anything.

He continued for an hour or so before he started slowing down, and yawning. Peters face twitched in response, trying to yawn without being able to move anything other than his eyes.

“I think I’m going to have to call it a night kid, so try to get a good sleep,” he pulled a funny face before adding, “If you’re not asleep already, I wouldn’t exactly know if you were… if you are awake I hope you manage to get some sleep.” Shaking his chains once, he watched his mentor shoot him a smile. “Night kiddo.”

There wasn’t exactly a comfortable position to be in, with their arms chained up to the wall, but his mentor shifted slightly before his breathing evened out. Peter listened as the mans heartrate slowed down, watching his mentor slip into sleep.

He tried to ignore the burning in his shoulders from being held in the same position for so long. Focussing on matching his breaths with Mr Starks, he eventually fell asleep.

xXxXxXx

Peter awoke to an aching jaw. The muzzle didn’t allow him any movement, and he could feel the skin chafing from where it cut into his cheeks. Banging his head gently against the wall behind him, he carefully eyed his mentor. With the blindfold still in place, it wasn’t obvious whether he was still sleeping or not. Going by his breathing, Peter guessed he was.

Looking at his mentor with fresh eyes, he was unsettled by quite how bad his mentor looked. He had been too tired last night, to really appreciate quite how a bad a shape he was in. The mans shirt was torn in various locations across his abdomen, and there were still some fresh trickles of blood oozing down his torso. The bruising on his face was an angry purple and his face, or what he could see around the blindfold, was streaked with dirt, sweat and blood. With a start, Peter noticed what appeared to be tear tracks down the mans cheeks.

Blinking back tears of his own, he let out a harsh breath. Scanning the room again, he searched for anything that could help them get out of here. Assuming that Mr Starks emergency alert had went off when they had originally been taken, then Colonel Rhodes or Vision should be showing up soon to save them. But what if they couldn’t find them in time? He’s not convinced that Mr Stark could take another beating if they took him away again. If it came to it, he would break the chains and stop them hurting the man any further.

Voices approaching outside the cell door caught his attention. They sounded panicked and rushed, accompanied by running footsteps. That couldn’t be a good sign.

Shaking his chains to try and waken his mentor, the man groaned as he came to. “Peter?” he mumbled.

Shaking the chains again, Peter stared at the door. A key was rattling against the lock as they fumbled to unlock the door. The men burst into the room, a frenzied look in their eyes as the slammed the door shut, locking them all inside.

Mr Starks head was whipping around the cell blind. Only able to hear the heavy footsteps of the men, but not seeing anything.

“What’s happening?” his mentor questioned.

“Shut up,” one of the armed men hissed. Kicking Mr Stark in the stomach to hammer home his point. His mentor bent forward trying to protect his stomach, as he pulled his knees up to offer more cover. Peter could see the blood streaming heavier down his front from the blow.

The men in the room looked scared. There were 4 in total. Peter was starting to wonder if they actually had more men, or if the entire operation had been carried out by these 4 since they were the only ones he’d seen. If it was just them, then his escape plan would be a lot easier.

The men were all aiming for the door, which created a flicker of hope in him. If they were rushing in here and scared of the door, then that meant it could be a rescue. Straining his ears, he focused on sounds outside of the room. He huffed a laugh through his nose when he heard the sound of repulsors. Colonel Rhodes, or War Machine, was here!

“Don’t try anything funny Stark or the kid gets it,” one of the men threatened, when Mr Stark had started shuffling and pulling on his chains.

Opening his palms in a sign of surrender, his mentor spoke calmly, “Okay, I won’t do anything. But you could at least let us know what was going on. Or you know, take the blindfold off.”

That raised a chuckle out of the men, “Not a chance Stark. Besides you should be thankful, we could have just shot you and left by now.”

A loud metallic bang on the door had everyone flinching. The whining of a repulsor charging was quickly followed by a blast that sent the cell door flying off its hinges. Crashing to the ground, less than a foot away from Peter. His eyes drifted from the broken door to the War Machine suit standing in the doorway, hand raised ready for action.

“Rhodey? Please tell me that’s you man,” his mentor asked breathlessly, from where he was pressed back against the wall.

Before the man responded, he raised his other hand, to quickly deal with the 4 armed men. They were quickly stunned and left lying unconscious on the floor. Surveying the room, the War Machine mask folded back, revealing Rhodey’s tired face.

“It’s me man,” he looked between Peter and Mr Stark, obviously trying to decide what to do first. Peter raised his hand and pointed towards the injured man. Rhodey appeared to take in his appearance, before nodding slightly and kneeling down in front of his mentor to inspect the chains.

“Rhodes, you need to get Peter first. Is he ok? Get this damn thing off me.”

Sighing, Rhodey quickly undid the blindfold, dropping it carelessly to the ground before moving over to the chains. “He looks ok Tones. We’ll get him out in a minute. See for yourself.”

His mentor blinked slowly, eyes adjusting to the sudden light after the black for so long. Peter could tell the exact moment his mentors eyes were able to focus on him. The mans features froze and his eyes filled with horror as he stared at Peter.

“ _Pete,_ ” he breathed. Peter nodded back with wet eyes.

He watched as Rhodey aimed a laser at the chains holding Mr Starks wrists, starting the slow process of cutting through them. Tensing his own arms, he pulled against the chains holding him in place. His arms were shaking with the effort after being held in the same position for so long. The metal was groaning, and Mr Starks eyes widened as the first chain snapped, freeing his right arm. Twisting to use both arms he managed to break the other chain as well.

His arms dropped to his lap, as he gently rubbed them. Getting the circulation moving again.

Rhodey had cut through the first of Mr Starks chains, and was currently working on the second one. With his free hand, his mentor gestured for Peter. Reaching out for him. Nodding, Peter crawled over towards the two men, having to weave around the unconscious bodies in the middle of the floor.

Mr Stark looked in worse shape up close. He was paler and he could see the tremors that still shook his body. The minute Peter was within touching distance, his mentor stretched out his hand to run it through Peter’s hair. His hand went down the back to run over the straps of the muzzle.

“Turn around kid,” the man whispered.

He could feel the man fumbling with the buckles, trying to get it off, but his hands were shaking more than Peters were. Rhodey had finished with Mr Starks chains and turned to shoo his mentors hands away from the muzzle.

“I got it Tones, just hold still Pete, I’ll get this off you.”

Peter winced as the straps were pulled to undo them. When Rhodey moved in front of him, to slowly pull the muzzle off, he groaned in pain. His jaw was aching from being forced in the same position for so long, and his mouth had dried out from not being able to swallow.

Sucking in a deep breath, Peter choked as the air got stuck in his throat. Bending over to cough, he felt the hands of his mentor resting gently on his back. Rubbing small circles, in a soothing gesture.

“You’re ok Pete. We’re getting out of here,” he soothed.

Nodding, Peter focussed on getting his breathing back under control. Slowly working his jaw, he heard the bones creaking against each other. Turning to face his mentor, he smiled at him.

“H-hey Mr Stark,” he rasped. Immediately regretting the words, his hands moved to grip his throat. He needed a drink.

He sat just watching his mentor for a couple of seconds before Rhodey coughed behind them. “So are you two wanting out of here soon, or are you just going to sit about and enjoy the scenery? SHIELD are outside, and will begin their sweep to take these idiots into custody any minute.”

Chuckling, his mentor smiled turning to face his best friend, “Yeah, let’s get out of here, we were waiting for you honeybear.”

Standing on shaky legs, Peter reached out to help his mentor up. Given his state, Mr Stark only grumbled slightly when Rhodey stood on his other side, each of them taking one of his mentors arms over their shoulders to help him walk out.

They slowly shuffled out of the rundown facility, and Peter smiled when the sunshine and fresh air hit his face. Making their way up the quinjet ramp, Peter sat down next to Mr Stark, while Rhodey moved up front to the pilots seat, after handing them both bottles of water and some granola bars.

Rhodey turned round to catch their eyes once more before smiling, “Let’s get you guys home.”


End file.
